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两个女人站在会议室的墙前.

Researchers find online gamers exposed to negative comments about LGBTQ+ persons

西格诺雷拉和吉林, 谁在2019年获得了心理学学士学位, published their research examining how sexual orientation and gender identify affect interactions in multiplayer online video games in Sage期刊的心理报告. 他们还写了一篇关于这项研究的博客文章 圣人的观点 6月1日是骄傲月.
宾州州立大学白兰地酒 professor and alumna pen paper detailing prevalence of sexual and gender identity comments

The vitriol of online gaming gained mainstream attention in 2014 with Gamergate, 针对女性的有组织骚扰, 有色人种和其他未被代表的群体. 从那时起, there have been several scientific studies on the sexism and misogyny of online gaming, 但关于性和性别歧视的报道相对较少, according to 宾州州立大学白兰地酒 Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Women’s, 性别, 及性研究 玛格丽特·佩吉·西格诺雷拉 和校友劳拉·吉林.

西格诺雷拉和吉林, 谁在2019年获得了心理学学士学位, published their research examining how sexual orientation and gender identify affect interactions in multiplayer online video games in Sage期刊的心理报告. 他们还写了一篇关于这项研究的博客文章 圣人的观点 6月1日是骄傲月.

They began the research while Gillin was a Brandywine student completing a thesis for the campus’ Cooper Honors program, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of both positive and negative comments about sexual orientation and gender identity during online gaming and testing the hypothesis that LGBTQ+ people witness or experience more prejudice than heterosexual and cisgender persons.

“One of our hypotheses was that sexual and gender minorities would notice more negative comments about gender and sexuality simply because they might have a more personal stake in it, but we found that pretty much everyone could name an instance in which they either saw or said something themselves that was discriminatory,吉林说, 注意的是,, 不出所料，大多数参与者没有报告自己的偏见行为. “Not nearly as many people were able to recount an incident where someone said something positive about gender or sexuality.”

研究人员招募了近500名参与者 bck体育官网联邦校园研究参与系统 在社交媒体上填写一份在线调查. 其中，185人完成了调查，并被纳入了分析. 这些样本根据性取向大致分成两半, 超过一半的人认为自己是男性, 女性占34%，女性占13%.5%为非二元人格. 参与者被问及他们玩网络游戏的经历, including reporting various comments about sexual or gender identities and whether they would categorize them positive or negative and as jokes, 随意的评论或严肃的讨论.

Gillin said her interest in researching sexuality began in middle school and this particular study gave her an opportunity to collect data to investigate what she suspected was true: LGBTQ+ gamers are more targeted with negative comments than heterosexual or cisgender players.

“能够支持你所说的话是很重要的, 你说的是什么意思, “网络视频游戏可能是一个对边缘人群充满敌意的空间,’”她说。. “你想证明这一点. 你想要说，‘这正在发生. 这对真实的人有负面影响.’”

Signorella said biases in gaming have long impacted members of traditionally marginalized groups, 当涉及到厌女症时，科学文献详细报道了这一点.

这些偏见在网络上的其他情况下也会出现, 但游戏中的具体问题会产生广泛的影响,”她说。. “Not only are the gaming options potentially more limited for individuals who are not typically viewed as game enthusiasts, 比如主题或角色, 还有乐趣带来的好处, 缓解压力, 认知技能培养, 等等可能会受到所遇到的恶劣环境的限制.”

根据夫人的说法, there is still little empirical research focusing on biases related to sexuality and gender identity. In 2015, Adrienne Shaw — assistant professor of media studies and production at Temple University who authored “Gaming at the Edge: Sexuality and 性别 at the Margins of Gamer Culture” — 写下了她的沮丧 is trying to find published research on what everyone seemed to be concluding was a major problem without the data.

The data in this study revealed that while most negative comments concerning sexuality or gender are directed at LGBTQ+ gamers, 异性恋和顺性玩家也会听到这些声音. 然而, 吉林指出, 他们的分析没有考虑种族因素, 因此，在交叉身份方面可能存在未被探索的影响.

“We hope to contribute to some raised awareness about the hostile gaming environment that many members of minoritized groups encounter,”她说. “异性恋者听到这些辱骂, insults and ‘jokes’ aimed at those with different identities could also be impacted, 包括认识到这种行为是正常的或更糟的, 获取骚扰LGBTQ+玩家的模式.”

这项工作不仅代表了对该领域的贡献, 据西诺维拉先生说, 也是吉林的个人成就, 谁说她从没想过这些发现会被发表.

“我非常感谢奥巴马医生的支持. Signorella, 我哥哥和我的同学,吉林说, noting she’s particularly thankful that Signorella continued their partnership after Gillin’s graduation. “我很高兴有这样的经历. 我很高兴有一个专业的联系. Signorella. 我很高兴参加这次会议, presentations and the publication itself and the five years of dedication to it to have on my resume. 有时确实会有压力，但总的来说是非常有益的.”

Both 西格诺雷拉和吉林 emphasized the importance and benefits of undergraduate research.

“I am an ardent proponent of providing undergraduate students with actual research experience,”她说. 有些人，比如劳拉，已经有兴趣追求研究经验. 其他人可能更多地将这个过程视为毕业的必要条件. Some who start with a more practical approach end up with a great interest in pursuing research. Those who do not decide to continue in research have still learned about how to use and interpret empirical findings and there is value there as well.”

Gillin added that the networking and professional development opportunities are invaluable.

“There are the professional opportunities it presents to you going forward,吉林说. “这有助于你建立人脉, 它可以帮助你建立对你以后有益的联系. 这是令人愉快的事情, 主要是, 和你的时间有关, and it gives you an idea of how things work so you're not jumping in the deep end.”

自从她从宾州州立大学毕业后, Gillin has earned a master’s degree in human sexuality at Widener University and has continued to assist Signorella with research. 她说她希望从事研究和教育方面的工作.